I do NOT want books that:
- “have series potential.” No. I’m serious. If you really want to write lots of books about the world or the characters, give this one a miss. This includes trilogies, tetralogies, cycles, sages, etc.
- are dystopian, post-apocalyptic, or otherwise posit one of those catastrophic futures that are curiously good at breeding teenage heroes. (I kid because I love.)
- have dragons. (I already have the only dragon book I’ll ever love.)
- have anything to do with Hamlet.
- exceed 100k words.
- feature protagonists in college.
- are strikingly similar to things I've already published.
- Grit that shows breathtaking sparkly bits when the light hits it just so. I really like this.
- Very unusual people.
- Very unpleasant people who are nonetheless irresistible.
- Sex.
- Awkwardness.
- Awkward sex.
- Adversarial relationships with objective reality.
- Encountering unfamiliar mythologies.
- Foreigners.
- Doomed romance.
- That you follow my submission guidelines.
- That your cover letter be very brief and you not agonize over it for more than twenty minutes.
- Your extreme patience. I’m slow. I often return to manuscripts several times before I make a decision.
- Look for an agent.
- Write more books.
I will not read anything sent before October 1 or after midnight on Halloween.
Thank you!
Update:
Opportunities for deeper explorations into my tastes (by no means necessary, but what the hell?):
